Child seats as such are known. Apart from the safety and comfort for children, easy handling is an important feature. A child seat should be easy to install and remove and have a weight as low as possible, since the adjustment and movement of heavy objects in general in a passenger car is extremely awkward.
WO2006030048 relates to an inflatable child seat which can be fitted to the rear part of the seatback in a motor vehicle. The child seat can be affixed to the seatback in a plurality of ways including—but not limited to—belt straps that loop around the headrest and vehicle seat, or connect to an intermediate support brackets or directly integrated into the vehicle seat during manufacture. An intermediate support bracket is mounted to the backrest of the vehicle seat using fixing means comprising clamps, latches or belts that are positioned on the backrest or on the support bracket itself. Alternatively, the system of clamps and latches in the intermediate support bracket that accepts the child seat can be a permanent part of the vehicle seatback and integrated during the manufacture of the vehicle seat. Alternatively, the entire child seat can be a permanent part of the vehicle seatback and integrated during the manufacture of the vehicle seat. In addition, a box structure is removably-mounted to the aforementioned support with a fixing anchor, said box comprising a part which can rotate by means of hinges and a cover that rests on an area of the rear seat of the vehicle. In this way, when the seat is closed, the visible face thereof is aligned with the rear surface of the backrest. Moreover, the box contains a canvas surface which is built into the inner periphery of the box and the cover and which is equipped with a safety belt for the baby, such as to define a housing which is communicated with an air inlet for inflating the seat-forming canvas using air from an actuated compressor that is connected to the electric system of the vehicle, which is in turn controlled by an on/off control switch.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,413,249 relates to a pneumatic child seat that comprises a back part and a seating part. The child seat can be impinged upon by pressure from a pressure gas store after a closing element is opened. The child seat automatically unfolds from an opening in a back rest of a vehicle seat, changes into inflated shape and is disposed on the seat of a vehicle seat. The child seat essentially comprises a seating cushion and a back part, which are each produced from an envelope and ribs welded or glued therein. The envelope is gas-tight and can, for this purpose, be constituted for example by a PU film or a PU-coated, PU-laminated or PU-flocked textile material. The shape of ribs determines the cross-section of seating cushion or back part. If ribs are disposed U-shaped, a shell shape emerges in the presence of pressurization, if they are rectangular, board-like cushions emerge.
These prior art solutions, as described above, approximate flat surfaces using a series of interconnected surfaces of small curvature, which may cause discomfort to a child seated therein and also may have a negative effect on the stability of such a child seat.
Thus, there is a need for a stable, safe and comfortable child seat that, when not in use, may be stowed easily in a vehicle.